A/N: This takes place after Sin scatters Yuna and her guardians...when it lands them on the Al-bhed island, where the Home is located. It's my first FFX fic. Exciting, huh?
Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own FFX or any of its characters.
"My Desert Solace"
The hot, unforgiving sun. Somehow, that is all one can think about when they are stranded alone in the middle of a desert. Its shining rays beat mercilessly into the scalding sand, reflecting here and there off odds and ends trapped half-in and half-out of the sand. A glare in the distance must signify the presence of water. The heightened light only added to the bright, barren feeling of the stretched landscape.
And, Yevon!–the torturous sun...
Auron couldn't block the throaty groan that escaped his lips, sounding dry and cracked to his own ears. His rousing consciousness finally fully settled in, and he immediately stood up, fighting dizziness from the heat. A warrior 'till the end...
His hand went immediately to his sword hilt, satisfied when he discovered his trusted weapon had not been lost during the abrupt travel. Sin had taken them to this place...
"Jecht..." the swordsmen said with a scowl, his eyebrows–visible over the top of his collar–were furrowed in agitation. "Jecht!" he said once more, this time louder, like a curse. His one good eye glanced around the desert sharply, finding no immediate life forms. The lack of monsters was good, but the lack of people...
Unable to finish that thought, Auron began trekking up a large, sandy hill, a small part of him angry for climbing higher to the accursed sun. The star in question simply shined brighter, and if it could smile Auron was sure it would be smirking triumphantly right about now. Auron shook his head, taking out a water bottle and sipping a small amount. 'I must have fallen harder than I thought,' he mused, finally coming to the top of the hill, giving him a great vantage point. Looking down, towards the bottom of the hill, Auron saw something...
...it was a body! Moving a bit closer, the warrior discovered it was indeed one of his fellow guardians...that black mage, Lulu.
'Convenient,' he thought. 'She'll be useful if we run into any elemental fiends.' He wasn't quite sure which kinds of elements would hang around in a place like this, though. Hoping to find the others–more specifically Yuna and Tidus–soon, he set off at a jog towards his fallen comrade.
"Lulu!" he called out as he drew near, frowning when he heard his voice crack from dryness. He had just taken a drink, and he needed to conserve water. Of course, he always had his sake jug, but what good was sake in the middle of the desert? He shook his head. It would only worsen the dryness.
The woman opened her one visible eye, the other being concealed by the graceful locks of her dark hair. She looked up in confusion at the man standing over her.
"Chappu..?" she croaked wearily, shaking her head as the haze before her eyes cleared. The man before her raised an eyebrow at her statement. No, not Chappu...
"Sir Auron," she amended, standing up and stumbling as stars danced before her eyes. She placed a hand to her head to steady the swimming visions. When her vision once again cleared she saw that Auron had been grasping her elbow, keeping her steady. He abruptly let go when he saw her eyes refocus. For the first time she noticed that he was alone. The Ronso, the Al-Bhed girl, the blitzball captain, the young summoner and the cocky blonde were nowhere in sight.
"Where is Yuna?" she questioned, her crimson eyes darting through the dry plains. Her gaze shifted back to the elder guardian as he spoke.
"We've been split up by Sin…you are the first one I have found. We should go look for the others," he told her, turning and walking away from the hill he had just climbed. Trying not to feel indignant as she was left to follow in his wake, Lulu contented herself by having her moogle doll stick its tongue out at the swordsman's back. The gesture was not enough to make her smile, though.
After awhile, Lulu found herself walking beside the silent man. Either he had slowed down enough for her to catch up, or she had sped up her walking to pace him. Either one seemed possible. A question that was nagging Lulu finally emerged from her lips:
"Sin found us under the Macalanian temple," she stated, her amethyst lips pursing together. "But why was it drawn there in the first place?" When Auron remained silent she scowled, delicate raven eyebrows drawing together. She couldn't keep a slight accusatory note out of her voice.
"I have a feeling that you aren't telling me something," Lulu told him, violet fingernails gripping into the material of the moogle doll. Out of her peripheral vision she saw him nod his head, his thick head of brown hair—speckled silver—lay against his head unmoving with the still desert air.
"You're right," he replied bluntly. His gaze roamed over the desert expanse, coming to rest on a figure quite a ways off. A fiend was fast approaching the form, and a blue sword flashed in the desert sun, like a twinkling star. Lulu followed his gaze. "Tidus." He stated simply, motioning towards the lone swordsman. The black mage nodded, but her thoughts were still on the mysterious Sin force. Her eyelids narrowed slightly, but in thought, not in anger.
"Sin–" she started, but cut off when Auron turned his gaze to her. Shaking out of her initial surprise, she continued. "Sin has...something to do with Tidus, doesn't it? It has something to do with...the reason you're protecting him..."
'Observant,' Auron thought to himself, out loud saying, "Yes." Simple, short and honest. He wondered to himself if he would answer anything she asked him with complete honesty. It sure seemed that way. She seemed satisfied enough with the answer, and they continued to walk towards the figure, which seemed to be moving further from them. After awhile it became easier to ignore the sun. Their thoughts were more directed towards finding Yuna.
"I'm a horrible guardian," Lulu stated suddenly, voice cracking with dryness, though her emotion was conveyed in her speech. Her moogle counterpart scowled as his mistress did. Its eyes bugged out as the mage unknowingly squeezed it tighter.
The man to her right shifted slightly, pulling out a small water canteen. She accepted this token gratefully, taking a small drink while he answered her outburst calmly.
"You and I both know that Sin is a force to be reckoned with—and more," he said gruffly, squinting against the sun, even with his sunglasses blocking most of the rays. "We were powerless to stop it. The greatest maester in the world could not have stopped Sin from surprising us at the Macalanian temple." Lulu tilted her head slightly, causing the small braids to fall over one pale shoulder. The sun was going to do murder to her alabaster skin.
"But why was Sin attracted to the temple in the first place?" that was one thing she just could not understand, and Lulu prided herself on being observant. Her ruby eyes were questioning, seeking answers she needed to have in order to be satisfied. She never did like being kept in the dark about such things.
"The fayth," Auron said, once again startling her with his gaze. "Sin was—is—attracted to the song of the fayth." Once again, Lulu got the impression that he was leaving something out…some vital clue that would tie everything together. She parted her lips to question him…
"You will find out soon." His statement interrupted her thoughts. Her expression remained cool. "Have patience, mage." It would take an idiot not to hear the slightly teasing not in his voice. Lulu found her lips quirking at the thought. She didn't argue his words, though curiosity still plagued her.
"Now can I ask you something?" Auron queried, receiving an interested look from Lulu. She bit her lip slightly in thought, wondering what it was he could possibly want to know. The thought, quite honestly, baffled her.
"Sure."
The swordsman stopped walking, and the woman stopped along side him, absently patting the head of her animated doll. She couldn't see his eyes—only her face reflected back at her in the lenses of his sunglasses.
"This…Chappu guy," he began, gaze remaining impassive. Her eyes widened in shock at the name. "You're still in love with him, aren't you?"
Her head fell, eyes pointedly looking at the still sand. A hand on her chin lifted her head until she was forced to look into the face of Auron. Rather than pull away, she answered his question.
"I do not love at all anymore," Lulu said simply. "I might as well be dead inside." Auron brushed a rough finger over her cheek softly, the placement of his hand allowing him to feel her pulse heighten. His sunglasses stopped her form seeing his eyes, but his eyebrows were drawn together in a frown.
"As dead as I am?" he questioned, releasing his hold on her face and beginning the long walk to find their companions. Lulu stood in puzzlement over his enigmatic statement, her face unavoidably flushed, even through the pale makeup.
@-^--- The End ---^-@
A/N: Just a short little vignette I thought up. Sorry Aurikka fans, but I'm all for Auron/Lulu. ^_^ Please review!